Self-adjusting contour pillow

ABSTRACT

Contained within an envelope fabricated of material which is substantially impervious to air, such as a suitable vinyl, is a resilient filler which is highly permeable to air. The filler, which may be of a material such as polyurethane foam, substantially fills the envelope. The envelope includes a flap portion extending outwardly from an edge thereof, this flap portion having an aperture formed therein in which an air valve member is removably mounted. With actuation of the air valve member and the application of pressure to the pillow, the contour of the pillow will assume the shape of an object applying the force thereto. The valve is closed once this contour has been assumed and the pillow retains this contour until the valve is opened, whereupon the original shape of the pillow is resumed.

[ Feb. 11, 1975 Prete, Jr.

[ 1 SELF-ADJUSTING CONTOUR PILLOW [75] lnventor: Ernest Prete, Jr.,Woodland Hills,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Ancra Corporation, El Segundo,

Calif.

[22] Filed: Oct. 1, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 402,197

[52] U.S. Cl. 5/337, 5/348 R [51] Int. Cl. A47c 27/08 [58] Field ofSearch 5/337, 338, 348 R, 349,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,072,816 3/1937Hil1........ 251/321 2,997,100 8/1961 Morris... 5/348 R 3,007,48511/1961 Barker 137/4542 3,192,540 7/1965 Swank 5/349 3,355,143 11/1967Mueller 251/321 3,729,754 5/1973 Hastings 5/348 R Primary Examiner-PaulR. Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Andrew M. Calvert Attorney, Agent, orFirmEdward A. Sokolski [57] ABSTRACT Contained within an envelopefabricated of material which is substantially impervious to air, such asa suitable vinyl, is a resilient filler which is highly permeable toair. The filler, which may be of a material such as polyurethane foam,substantially fills the envelope. The envelope includes a flap portionextending outwardly from an edge thereof, this flap portion having anaperture formed therein in which an air valve member is removablymounted. With actuation of the air valve member and the application ofpressure to the pillow, the contour of the pillow will assume the shapeof an object applying the force thereto. The valve is closed once thiscontour has been assumed and the pillow retains this contour until thevalve is opened, whereupon the original shape of the pillow is resumed.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SELF-ADJUSTING CONTOUR PILLOW Thisapplication relates to foam pillows and the like, and more particularlyto such a pillow which utilizes air pressure in assuming a contour inaccordance with the shape of an object applying force thereto.

Cushions have been developed in the prior art which respond to thepressure applied by the body of the user and assume and retain a contourin accordance with this pressure. These devices often utilize airvalving mechanisms in achieving this end result. Many of these prior artdevices, however, are overly expensive in their construction and do notprovide the facility of utilization that would be desired.

The device of the present invention provides an improvement over suchprior art pillow and cushion devices in providing a simple andeconomical construction wherein the control valve utilized can readilybe removed for repair or replacement. Further, the control valveutilized in the device of the present invention is located on a flapportion which is an appendage to the main cushion portions of the pillowso that it does not interfere with the use of the pillow and is in aspot where it can be readily operated by the user. The use of aseparable control valve in the device of the invention furtherfacilitates and economizes manufacture of the device.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improvedself-adjusting contour pillow of highly economical construction.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a self-adjustingcontour pillow which is easier to fabricate and repair than prior artdevices of this type.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide aself-adjusting contour pillow in which the control valve is located foreasy operation by the user.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the plane indicated by 2-2in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the plane indicated by 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the valve member of the preferredembodiment removed from the enve' lope; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view showing the valve of the preferredembodiment in the open position.

Briefly described, the device of the invention is as follows: A flexibleenvelope fabricated of a material substantially impervious to air, suchas a polyvinyl chloride plastic, has contained therein a filler of aresilient material which is highly permeable to air, such as a suitablepolyurethane foam. The envelope includes a flap portion which may be inthe general shape of a bell which extends outwardly from the edgethereof. A manually operable air valve member is removably mounted in anaperture formed in this flap portion, this valve member being retainedin air-sealed relationship with the envelope. With the application offorce against the pillow by the users body while the user is actuatingthe valve to keep it open, the pillow will assume the counter of thisbody portion and retain this contour when the valve is closed. Thepillow can be restored to its normal shape by opening the valve while nopressure is being applied against the pillow.

Referring now to the figures, a preferred embodiment of the invention isillustrated. Contained within air tight flexible envelope I1 is a fillerI2. Envelope II is fabricated of a material substantially impervious toair, such as a polyvinyl chloride plastic. while the tiller I2 is of aresilient material which is highly permeable to air, such as a suitablepolyurethane foam. Envelope II has a flap portion lla which extendsoutwardly from an edge thereof and is in the general shape of a bell.Flap portion Ila has an aperture 15 in one of the sides thereof, as canbest be seen in FIG. 4. Fixedly attached to the edge of aperture 15 is agrommet 13. Air valve 14 has an annular groove formed in the bodyportion 16 thereof. Air valve 14 is removably attached to flap portionlla by snapping it into position with grommet 13 fitted within groovel6ax to provide a seal between the valve body and the envelope.

The base portion 16b of the valve body has an annular portion with aplurality of apertures 16c formed therein. Slidably mounted over annularpost portion 16d of the valve body is control button 18. Control button18 is resiliently urged upwardly by spring 20 which is retained withinpost 16d. An O-ring 21 is retained in a groove formed around theperiphery of button 18 and provides a seal between the button and thebody portion of the valve when the button is in the unactuated conditionas shown in FIG. 2. When the button is manually depressed, as shown inFIG. 5, O-ring 21 is moved away from valve body 16 and thus air ispermitted to pass through the valve.

In using the device, one may lean back on the pillow while depressingbutton I8 to release air from the pillow envelope in response to thepressure applied by the user's body thereagainst. When the pillow hasbeen compressed as desired. the button is released and the pillowretains the contour assumed in response to the pressure applied by theusers body.The pillow can be restored to its original fully inflatedcondition by depressing valve 18 without the application of pressure onthe pillow.

The device of this invention thus provides a simple yet highly effectivecontour pillow apparatus which has the advantages of economicalconstruction, facility of utilization, and in which the valve unit canbe readily removed for repair or replacement.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it isto be clearly understood that this is intended by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spiritand scope of this invention being limited only by the terms of thefollowing claims:

I claim:

I. A self-adjusting contour pillow comprising:

a flexible envelope fabricated of material substan tially impervious toair, said envelope including a flap portion extending outwardly from theedge thereof;

a manually operable air valve member for controlling the flow of airbetween the interior of said envelope and the ambient atmosphere;

said flap portion having an aperture formed therein, said aperturehaving sealing means running around the perimeter thereof for removablyreceiving said valve member in an air sealed relationship therewith; and

resilient filler means contained within and substantially filling saidenvelope, said filler means being highly permeable to air;

whereby when said air valve member is opened while said pillow issimultaneously being compressed in response to a body portion having aparticular cntour, the pillow retains said contour when the valve memberis closed:

said air valve member comprises a body portion having an annular grooveformed therein, said sealing means comprising an annular grommet fixedlyattached to the perimeter of said flap portion aperture, said bodyportion being fitted in said aperture substantially in the shape of abell. I. i 1! i I

1. A self-adjusting contour pillow comprising: a flexible envelopefabricated of material substantially impervious to air; said envelopeincluding a flap portion extending outwardly from the edge thereof; amanually operable air valve member for controlling the flow of airbetween the interior of said envelope and the ambient atmosphere; saidflap portion having an aperture formed therein, said aperture havingsealing means running around the perimeter thereof for removablyrEceiving said valve member in an air sealed relationship therewith; andresilient filler means contained within and substantially filling saidenvelope, said filler means being highly permeable to air; whereby whensaid air valve member is opened while said pillow is simultaneouslybeing compressed in response to a body portion having a particularcontour, the pillow retains said contour when the valve member isclosed: said air valve member comprises a body portion having an annulargroove formed therein, said sealing means comprising an annular grommetfixedly attached to the perimeter of said flap portion aperture, saidbody portion being fitted in said aperture with said grommet matinglyengaging the groove.
 2. The pillow of claim 1 wherein said air valvemember further includes a button slidably mounted in said body portion,spring means for urging said button outwardly from said body portion andan O-ring mounted on the periphery of said button to form a seal betweenthe body portion and the button, whereby when the button is depressedthe O-ring is moved to break said seal.
 3. The pillow of claim 1 whereinsaid flap portion is substantially in the shape of a bell.